MUMBAI: Considered a strong contender for the top job in Gujarat after Vijay Rupani resigned, former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel on Monday turned emotional over missing the bus for a third time.
While claiming he was not upset, a teary-eyed Nitin said: “The BJP has done a lot for me. The reports of my being upset are not true.”
His teary-eyed video has since gone viral on social media. Earlier, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel called on Nitin Patel at his residence.
Nitin said, “I congratulated Bhupendra Patel, who is an old family friend. He has also asked for my guidance.” Nitin Patel, a frontrunner for the chief minister’s post, was taken aback when Bhupendra Patel’s name was announced. His disappointment was visible then, and also on Monday.
When Anandiben Patel was removed as Gujarat chief minister in the aftermath of the Patel agitation in 2016, there was speculation on Nitin being her replacement. Even as he was distributing sweets, the news of Vijay Rupani’s selection trickled in.
When the state went to polls in 2017, he expected in vain for the mantle to fall on him. Such was his disappointment that he threatened to break the party.
A wary leadership appointed him the deputy chief minister in the Rupani government in a bid to pacify him.
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